1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed and claimed herein generally pertains to a method and apparatus for controllably reducing height, weight or other dimensions of configured computer or other products, in order to meet shipping and delivery constraints. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein a self-adjusting mechanism is used in determining which parts to remove from the product in order to achieve the desired dimensional reduction. Even more particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein the mechanism provides a historical record of parts removed from previous orders of a specified product type, in order to achieve height, weight or other reductions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Configured computer products are ordered and produced in accordance with procedures to ensure that a complete functional product, of high quality and able to meet all operational standards, is delivered to a customer. In carrying out transactions of this type, it often happens that some of the products may exceed certain customer facility size requirements, such as height and/or weight. For example, a product may be too wide, tall or heavy to be put on elevators, rolled under doorways, or carried over certain raised floors. Besides customer site limitations, it is possible that the produced product exceeds transportation limitations. Typically, customer or distribution restrictions of these types are not automatically planned for or taken into account during manufacturing. Accordingly, there is no controlled process for ensuring that products are built and tested to achieve quality expectations, and at the same time are designed to enable temporary reductions in product size, in order to meet shipping, delivery or other customer imposed constraints. Usually, when shipping or delivery requires reduction of a product dimension, one or more parts will be removed from the product as necessary. However, this process creates a further complication, in that the removed parts must often be reinstalled exactly as removed, in order for the produced product to function properly.
Current approaches for reducing product dimensions tend to be manual, are non-standardized, and generally provide little or no guidance to those who must carry out the reduction tasks. This is due to the variability in product configuration, and the corresponding impact on product bill of material (BOM) structure. For example, with regard to products such as computer systems, each product has its own unique configuration, and each customer order will generally be unique. As a result, it is not practical for the BOM structure to represent or describe all the possible approaches that could be followed, in removing parts from a product to achieve a necessary reduction. A further difficulty is that such products must be completely assembled, so that they can be tested and certified as meeting all specifications and requirements. Usually, the complete assembly and testing is done before parts can be removed to reduce height or weight.
It will be appreciated that removal of parts from a completed product is likely to generate an additional set of problems and concerns. These concerns include ensuring that the right devices or parts are pulled from the product, limiting the removed parts to the minimum necessary, ensuring the removed parts are exposed to the appropriate operations, and ensuring that removals are done at the last possible moment to avoid the impact of unexpected customer product alterations. Moreover, after parts are removed and placed in containers, measures must be taken to prevent the containers from becoming lost or separated from the reduced product. If the reduced product and parts containers are to be shipped from one country to another, it may be necessary to declare the contents of each container for customs. At present, it is very common to make errors in such customs declarations, particularly if an order involves a large number of containers with removed parts.
When the reduced product arrives at the site or location of its intended use, it must be rebuilt by re-installing the removed parts. Accordingly, it is important to ensure that any instructions needed to re-install the removed parts are made available at the site for the rebuilding task. Moreover, if the product comprises multiple units that are similar to one another, the groups of removed parts may likewise appear similar to one another. However, it may also be critical, for correct product operation, to ensure that the parts taken from a unit are re-installed only on that same unit. Accordingly, measures must be taken to prevent the different part groups from becoming mixed up or interchanged with one another.